A respected scientific publication estimates that about 500 billion tons of carbon dioxide has accumulated in the atmosphere since the onset of industrialization. Some projections, based on current trends, suggest that we may see an aggregate accumulation of a trillion tons before 2050. Some in the scientific community conjecture that this may be enough to move the planet into a danger zone that would result in serious changes to the world's climate. If continuing research further establishes that elevated temperatures will destabilize the earth's climate, then the nations of the world may be forced to resort to actively begin removing the continuing accumulation of increasing levels of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere as a critical issue of long term safety.
The innovative atmospheric carbon capture technologies that have been proposed to date appear to be extraordinarily expensive. They involve the use of chemical solutions and membranes that trap the carbon dioxide molecules and subsequently release them for deep underground storage. The process of capturing carbon dioxide worldwide requires the new construction of a vast number of tall structures that resemble cooling towers and whose carbon-capture process has a large demand for energy. Their construction and operating expenses could reach an estimated annual cost of a trillion dollars projected to the year 2100.
In 2007, this inventor received approval for a Renewable Energy Electric Power Generating System, U.S. Pat. No. 7,233,079 and in 2008, a modification, U.S. Pat. No. 7,397,142. It consisted of a high-performance high-temperature superconducting wind turbine with low value energy generated at night and stored in a high energy density high-temperature superconducting magnetic energy storage system located in the turbine's tall cylindrical structural steel tower. Both the superconducting wind turbine generator and its superconducting energy storage system require a cryogenic refrigeration system to support superconducting operation. It provides the basis for a new, more cost effective approach for atmospheric carbon capture.
First, a review of the phase diagram for carbon dioxide indicates that carbon dioxide molecules can be easily frozen into ‘dry ice flakes’ by using the spare capacity of the on-board cryorefrigeration system. Secondly, the structural steel wind turbine tower has the capability to also physically support the cryogenic carbon capture apparatus. Thirdly, the SMES energy storage system has around-the-clock capability to support the additional new apparatus that includes heat exchange systems and an electric air flow distribution fan.
Hence, with limited additional equipment and minor design modifications, the patented superconducting wind turbine and energy storage apparatus can be adapted to effectively capture atmospheric carbon dioxide for subsequent commercial reuse or for potential deep underground sequestering in a more cost effective manner.
The inventor's high-performance superconducting wind turbine would no longer be limited to efficiently generating and storing renewable energy, but additionally becomes an instrument for the cryogenic separation and capture of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere with a variety of reuse potential. This dual role modification creates the possibility for a safer and cleaner carbon-capped renewable energy future for mankind.